Deployment flexible mechanical design for a mobile-3D radar antenna

The considered system consists of an antenna, a transmitter-receiver, a signal processor, and a command control operation center. Each subsystem can be moved rapidly to a desired location by making use of truck, helicopter, or a medium-size cargo plane. The most important part of the entire system is a novel phase-frequency scanned phased array antenna subsystem. The most remarkable feature of the antenna is related to the fact that a phase-frequency scanning 3-D radar antenna operated in the S-band is used. Attention is given to design criteria, deployment flexibility, details concerning the planar array design, planar array flexibility under the wind load, an evaluation involving an antenna full size mock-up, and the results of transportability tests.